What we're looking at
Sen. Al Melvin, R-Tucson, commented about state legislators' stances on abortion, praising Republicans for being abortion opponents.

The comment
"20 out of 30 AZ State Senators & 40 out of 60 AZ State Representatives are Pro Life & all are Republicans. I'm proud to be part of this team."

The forum
Posted on Melvin's Twitter account (@SenatorMelvin) on April 5.

Analysis
Melvin told AZ Fact Check that he heard the figures from Center for Arizona Policy President Cathi Herrod, who made the comment during a recent fundraiser dinner.

Herrod said the center, a Phoenix-based conservative non-profit advocacy group, based the numbers on responses to the organization's questionnaire and an analysis of lawmaker votes this session.

The Center for Arizona Policy created azvoterguide.com to provide voters with information about candidates in the 2010 general election. It sent congressional, statewide and legislative candidates a 15-question survey, asking whether they supported or opposed certain issues. Candidates were asked whether they support "prohibiting abortion except when it is necessary to prevent the death of the mother."

Twenty Republican state senators responded that they would support prohibiting abortion. Only Sen. Michele Reagan, R- Scottsdale, said she would oppose such a prohibition. She wrote in the questionnaire: "I do not want abortion to be 100 percent illegal, but I support the ban on partial-birth abortion and voted to ban use of taxpayer (dollars) for abortion," according to the surveys posted online.

None of the nine Democratic state senators responded to the survey.

In the other legislative chamber, 39 of the 40 Republican state representatives responded to the survey. All of them said they would support prohibiting abortion.

Rep. Kate Brophy McGee, R-Phoenix, did not respond to the survey. However, she told AZ Fact Check that she is against abortion.

Only two of the 20 House Democrats responded to the survey. Reps. Macario Saldate, D-Tucson, and Matt Heinz, D-Tucson, said they would oppose such a measure.

Although Herrod said that the center based its figures on the surveys and lawmaker votes, not all of the lawmakers filled out the surveys. Most Democrats did not respond to the survey, so their stances are not clear.

There also was at least one Republican lawmaker who indicated she wouldn't support prohibiting abortion to the fullest extent and another who didn't respond to the survey, but has voted against an abortion measure this session.

AZ Fact Check also checked with other groups that may have conducted similar research on legislators' stances.

Project Vote Smart, an organization that tracks legislators' opinions on different issues in each state, also compiles information related to abortion issues.

According to a section on the website listing endorsements from 2009 for National Abortion Rights Action League/ Arizona Right to Choose, Rep. Albert Hale, D-Window Rock, was listed as "pro-life." Sen. Leah Landrum Taylor, D-Phoenix, was listed as "somewhat pro-choice."

However, Hale and Landrum Taylor also were listed as supporters of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, which supports abortion rights.

Hale did not a return an e-mail seeking clarification on his stance; Landrum Taylor did not return a call made through a spokeswoman.

Planned Parenthood also surveyed legislators about their stances on abortion.

They listed Reps. Catherine Miranda, D-Phoenix, and Anna Tovar, D-Tolleson, as abortion opponents, and Rep. Richard Miranda, D-Tolleson and Landrum Taylor as "mixed" on the issue.

At least one Democratic representative — Catherine Miranda — openly distinguishes herself as "pro-life," according to an informal survey of lawmakers conducted by Sarah Muench, a spokeswoman for the Arizona House Democrats.

Herrod had said that the number of "pro-life" members from the House was divided along party lines, but that does not appear to be accurate.

Bottom line: Melvin's tweet indicated that 20 senators and 40 representatives oppose abortion, and that all of them are Republicans. There are no official legislative surveys on the issue. However, groups have conducted their own surveys. The Center for Arizona Policy, from which Melvin says he got his information, did not include responses from all legislators, so it's not accurate to assume all Democrats support abortion rights. In fact, other surveys indicate a few Democrats support anti-abortion measures at some level.

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AZ Fact Check: Keeping Arizona Honest

AZ Fact Check is a service of The Arizona Republic, 12 News and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. It is not affiliated with www.FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.